1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to determining the most active traffic flow rates among many on a communications network and, in particular, to using an integrated circuit configured to create a table indicating flow rates for particular packet address identifications.
2. Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a switch 10 in a typical network 12. As shown, a plurality of sources 14A and 14B, destinations 16A and 16B, and source/destination combinations 18A and 18B are connected to switch 10. Switch 10 may receive a signal from source 14A on line 20 which represents information contained in a typical packet form using a conventional Media Access Control (MAC) addressing protocol. Switch 10 receives the signal, examines the destination address identification in the packet, and directs the packet be sent using a second signal on, for example, line 22 to the correct destination such as destination 16B.
It is of interest to monitor the traffic activity through a network device, such as switch 10, so that the most active packet addresses are identified. Packet activity may be of interest for many network related reasons, including administration and maintenance requirements such as reconfiguration. Thus selected source addresses, destination addresses, and source/destination pair addresses may be of particular interest. Traffic activity is presently monitored using a remote device such as an RMON (Remote Monitor) Probe. This device is separate from switch 10.
What is desired is an apparatus and method of identifying the packet identifications most frequently handled by a switch or other network device that is integral to the device itself. It is furthermore desirable that the apparatus be embodied in a single integrated circuit.